Vadnais Heights Fire Department Earns History-Making ISO Rating

USDD’s station alerting customer, the Vadnais Heights Fire Department, is to be congratulated for their history-making ISO rating from the Insurance Services Office.

The ISO helps the communities evaluate their public fire-protection services. The program provides a third-party, objective standard to help fire departments plan and budget for facilities, equipment, and training.

At the February 20 City Council meeting in Vadnais Heights , Fire Chief Edward Leier reported his department received a No. 2 rating. Leier said the department received the notable rating for its fire certificate of occupancy program, staffing structure, response times and training model.

The department’s response time is two minutes on average when stations are staffed, and six minutes on average when not staffed.

By this time next year, the department will implement a 24/7 staffing model, allowing firefighters to get to the scene of an emergency more quickly. Leier plans to add shifts until the fire department is staffed 24/7 in Jan. 2019.

Based in Ramsey County, Minnesota, Vadnais Heights is one of seven stations in the state to receive a top safety ISO rating.

ISO ratings are given every five years. In 2013, there were no No. 2 ratings given in Minnesota. Vadnais Heights was among 29 departments to receive the highest rating — No. 3 — that year. No fire department in Minnesota has ever received a No. 1 rating.

What is an ISO Rating?

ISO collects information on municipal fire-protection efforts in communities throughout the United States. In each of those communities, ISO analyzes the relevant data using our Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS).

The ISO then assigns a Public Protection Classification from 1 to 10. Class 1 represents exemplary public protection, and Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire-suppression program doesn’t meet ISO’s minimum criteria.

And by securing lower fire insurance premiums for communities with better public protection, the PPC program provides incentives and rewards for communities that choose to improve their firefighting services.

ISO has extensive information on more than 44,000 fire-response jurisdictions.